As a rule, I am very careful to be shallow and conventional where depth and originality are wasted.- L.M. Montgomery

This is a continuation of yesterday's post (I had to leave work and didn't get to continue). Here I will, once again, spout bursts of senseless love for all things Maud. I've also added some more links on the side, and yes, they are all Maud related. I could go on for days, I swear, this could last forever. (INSERT: I originally intended this to be another Maud love-fest, but it has quickly dissolved into a rant on how much I hate Kevin Sullivan).

I'm reading Anne of Windy Poplars again (I finished The English Patient last night, but I need to let it sit with me awhile before I can say anything). I basically grabbed a random Maud book off the shelf last night because it's what I'm in the mood for, and this is what magically appeared in my hand. Jen hated it, but I can't hate anything Maud, it's impossible. Most people don't realize that Anne of Windy Poplars (Anne of Windy Willows in the UK) was actually published in 1936, 21 years after it's precursor Anne of the Island was published, and 16 years after Rilla of Ingleside was published (Anne of Ingleside wasn't published until 1939 and would be the last of Maud's works). Maud was at a very different point in her life then she had been 20 years earlier. I'm definitely not going to say it's my favourite out of the books, but there is still a magic in it, and I love little Elizabeth. Now that I think about it, I think the copy of Anne of Windy Poplars that I have on me right now is actually a first edition (again, I have multiple copies of this book too). It's just missing it's dust jacket.

I have a serious problem with Kevin Sullivan. He is the president of Sullivan Entertainment. They were the one's that made the 1985 version of Anne of Green Gables, the 1987 Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, Road to Avonlea, that awful Anne cartoon, the 1990 Jane of Lantern Hill movie (which actually wasn't half-bad, although not overly true to the book), the horrifyingly-bad Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story, and now they're making a new movie: Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (based on Budge Wilson's book of the same title). He cannot be blamed, however, for the Emily of New Moon TV series (which was okay for about half a season and then collapsed into utter nonsense). I can't even begin to describe how much I loathe that man!

The first two Anne movies weren't bad, obviously he couldn't do everything in the books. I was really excited when I heard about the third Anne movie (it aired in 2000), I found out when it was going to be on, adjusted the bunny-ears on the TV to get good reception (again, we were poor), and cozied-down to watch. I was horrified! I actually cried. Sullivan basically made up his own movie. Other than the fact that Gilbert and Anne get married, nothing else was based on the books. Sullivan sent both Gilbert and Anne to the war, had Anne drinking, flirting with other men, swearing (!), and then in the end they adopt some random war baby. What the hell! I was bawling by the end because I was so upset, I wished I had never watched. I haven't watched it since, I can't.

I can see already that the next movie (supposed to be released this fall) will be even more of an atrocity. I haven't read Budge Wilson's book, and I don't intend to. Nor do I intend, as of this moment, to watch the movie. Basically what's going on is this: Budge Wilson wrote a book that is a prequel to Anne of Green Gables (for a reason that I still haven't been able to figure out), that talks about Anne's life before she moves to Green Gables. I don't understand why this needed to be done, Maud gives us snippets all throughout the books of what Anne's life was like before, and frankly I wouldn't want to watch a movie based on this time because it doesn't seem like it was pleasant. I did watch the trailer for the movie today (without sound because I'm at work). I love Shirley MacLaine, but I don't think she's enough to make me watch the movie. The little girl who is playing Anne (this is going to sound really bad, I know) is too chubby in the face to be Anne (although she is cute!), Anne was all wiry and slightly malnourished. Because I couldn't watch it with sound, it was a little hard to get the gist, but it doesn't look like it even has much to do with the snippets we get from Maud.

It really makes me sad that a publisher even accepted this "prequel" (it's even designated as an "official prequel" which I think is "officially lame"). I feel the same way about the sequel Jane Austen books that have come out. It just seems so wrong, why can't they just leave well-enough alone? Besides, I want a little something left to the imagination, I like to come up with my own outcomes. I like to envision Anne and Gilbert living out the rest of their days in happiness, surrounded by their little grandchildren. By the way (I don't know if this is considered a spoiler or not), as I was going through the website for the new movie, I didn't see any mention of Gilbert at all (or any other children for that matter, other than that war baby). If Kevin Sullivan has killed off Gilbert I am going to be so upset and ridiculously angry, I'll probably cry again. That will definitely get the Anne fans all kinds of angry.

I'm going to stop moaning about this now with these last few words: Kevin Sullivan and Budge Wilson can bite me. I *heart* Maud.